Details

This monument includes a stone hut circle situated within a small enclosure
lying on the lower east-facing slope of Roos Tor. The enclosure is terraced
into the hillslope, is oval in plan and measures 17m from north to south by
10m east to west and has 2m wide rubble walls standing up 0.3m high. The
entrance is in the centre of the eastern wall and measures 2m wide. The stone
hut circle is situated in the centre of the enclosure. The wall is composed
of a rubble bank and the interior measures 3.1m in diameter and has a 1m wide
wall standing up to 0.2m high. The monument lies in close proximity to a
substantial Bronze Age field boundary known as The Great Western Reave and on
the periphery of a contemporary fragmentary field system.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in southern Britain and,
because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most
complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The
great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provide direct evidence
for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards.
The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites,
major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as
later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive changes
in the pattern of land use through time. Within the landscape of Dartmoor
there are many discrete plots of land enclosed by stone walls or banks of
stone and earth, most of which date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC), though
earlier and later examples also exist. They were constructed as stock pens or
as protected areas for crop growing and were sometimes subdivided to
accommodate stock and hut circle dwellings for farmers and herdsmen. The size
and form of enclosures may therefore vary considerably depending on their
particular function. Their variation in form, longevity and relationship to
other monument classes provide important information on the diversity of
social organisation and farming practices amongst prehistoric communities.
They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial
proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The enclosure and stone hut circle 450m north of Shillapark Farm survive
comparatively well and form part of a scattered group of at least six stone
hut circles situated on the periphery of a fragmentary field system in close
proximity to the Bronze Age field boundary known as The Great Western Reave.
No other monument with this configuration is known on Dartmoor and this makes
it a site of considerable importance. Both the hut and enclosure contain
archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and
the landscape in which it was constructed and, as such, provide a valuable
source of information concerning the nature of Bronze Age occupation and land
use on the west side of the moor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Gerrard, S, Greeves, T, 'Dartmoor Tinworking Research Group Interim Report' in Excavation Of Upper Merrivale Tin Blowing And Stamping Mill, , Vol. 1, (1991), 7
Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57NE66,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)
Greeves, T A P, (1991)

Source: Historic England